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Press Release ee : United Nations, New York

Press Release GA/6335
13 January 1964

38/73. | Review and implementation of the Concluding Document of the Twelfth Special Session of
the General Assembly

Dates 15 December 1983 Meeting: 97
Report: A/38/641

Votes: E = 124=13-8 (recorded)

E

Nuclear~arms freeze

The General Assemb ly,

Recalling thet in the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General
Assembly, 74/ the first special session devoted to disarmament, adopted in 1978 and
unanimously and categorically reaffirmed in 1982 during the twelfth special session of the
General Assembly, 75/ its second special session devoted to disarmament, the Assembly
expressed deep concern over tne threat to the very survival of mankind posed by the existence
of nuclear weapons and the continuing arms race,

Recalling also that, on che same occasion, it pointed out that existing arsenals of
nuclear weapons are more than sufficienc co destroy all life on earth and stressed that
mankind is therefore confronted with a choice: halt the arms race and procead to

disarmament, or face annihilation,

Noting that the: conditions prevailing todey are a source of even more serious concern
than those existing in 1978 because of several factors such as the deterioration of the
incernational situation, the increase in che accuracy, speed and destructive power of nuclear
weapons, the promotion of illusory doctrines of "Limited" or "winnable" nuclear war and the
many false alarms which have occurred owing to the malfunctioning of computers,

Noting also that the Saventh Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned
Countries, held at New Delhi in March 1983, declared that the renewed escalation in the
nuclear~arms race, both in its quantitative and qualitative dimensions, as well as reliance
on doctrines of nuclear deterrence, has heightened the risk of the oucbreak of nuclear‘ war
and led to greater insecurity and instability in incernational relations, 76/

Relieving that it is.a matter of the utmost urgensy Co stop any further increase in the
awesome arsenals of the two major nuclear-weapon States, which already have ample retaliatory
power end a frightening overkill capacity,

Believing also that it is equally urgent to activate negotiations for the substantial
reduction and qualitative limitation of nuclear arms,

Considering thac a nuclear-arms Freeze, while noe an end in itself, would constituce the
most effective first step for the achievement of the above-mentioned two objectives, since it
would provide a favourable environment for the conduct of the reduction negociations while,
ac the same tine, prevencing the continued increase and qualitative improvemene of existing
nuclear weaponry during the period when the negotiations would take place,

Firmly convinced that at present the conditions are aost propitious for such « freeze,
since the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Uniced States of America are now
equivalent in nuclear military power and it seems evident that there exists between them an

overall rough parity,

Conscious that the mere application of the systems of surveillance, verification and
control already agreed upon in some previous cases would be sufficient to provide a
reasonable guarantee of faithful compliance with the undertakings derived from che freeze,

Convinced that it would be to the benefit of all other States possesoing nuclear weapons
to follow the example of the two major nuclear-weapon States as soon as posicive results
derived from the freeze agreed by them have taken place,

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